Democratic Northwest. [volume] (Napoleon, Ohio) 1869-1894, 1887-04-21
TURNING A PENNY.
HOW A eARKENTINE's STEWARD
'WcTUALED FOR A VOYAGE.

Beans, Dried Fruit and Chiekens-OnIons
ForgOtten-what the Captain Said-In
a Dead CaIm-A Serious sItuatIon-A
Close Call.
The barkentine Maple Leaf in 1872 was
engaged in trade between New York and
Brazil. Her cargoes south were miscel-
laneOus assortment of domestic goods, and
on the homeward trip she usually carried
hides and horns. / was on my second
trip rs supercargo, and, with Yankees
natural turn for speculation, saw an op-
portunity to ''turn a penny Space on
shipboard, like space in n widely circu-
lated newspaper, is very valuable. AS
supercargo l was also steward and cook.
and the galley, with its lockers, was my
personal domain. As steward it was my
duty to victual the ship for voyage
which might last four or even five months,
but which was usually performed in from
forty to seventy days. When fully
victualed for the longest possible voyage,
as the rules required, there was hardly
room in the galley or storeroom 'to stick
q pin.n
In Pernambuco had seen clear horns
seven and even less. l knew also that
their value in New York at that time was
| from thirty to twenty-five cents | pos
sessed four douhloons, about $50, and
| quietly invested the sum in horns. had
them conveyed OIL board surreptitiously as
provisions and stored in the darkest
portion of the storeroom. Then victualed
the vessel with beans, rice, dried fruit
such articles as were not calculated to de-
cay in an equatorial climate and which
possessed the desirable property of ''swell-
ing" during culinary preparation. AS a
tempting attraction, and to encourage the
idea that l was ''good provider," two
coops of eighty chickens cackled and
squawked on the quarter deck, and had
no trouble in persuading the sailors to
take charge of large bag of chicken feed
for the sustenance of the fowls until they
should be needed from time to time for
I pot pies. Thus provisioned, with the GUS
tomary amount of salt meats and flour,
we cleared from Pernambuco for New
York.
THE DENoUEMENT.
Tolerably fair sailing weather lasted
until we were off the Isle of Pines, and
then for eleven days the barkentine did
not move an inch. The eighty chickens,
like the last rose of summer, were faded
and gone. Then l began to exercise all
the culinary art possessed in making the
''staples" palatable. One day, however,
the captain remarked that he had seen no
yams. Yams were bulky vegetable, and
had given up their space to the horns.
l said could find only Indifferent yams
in the Pernambuco market and was sure
they would spoil in crossing the equator
"But onions,n said the captain; 'you
have onions?'
Unfortunately had forgotten onions.
"Let me see what you have" said he,
| leading the way down into the galley.
was aware that the denouement was COM
ing and so lighted small lamp and led
the way straight to the horns. Hitherto,
Capt. Ellsworth had always professed
friendship for me; but when he saw the
nature of my provisions-th vessel thirty
| or forty days from port and in dead
calm-he exhibited symptoms Of decided
| impatience.
''If were to tell the crew of what I
have seen," said he, "they would throw
| you overheard
Time hangs heavily on ones hands
when becalmed at sea, even under the
most favorable circumstances; but to a
steward who is likely to starve his mess
mates through his own folly it is simply
intolerable. Had not awakened on the
following morning to find the vessel bowl
ing along before a clipping breeze think
/ might have saved the crew the trouble of
feeding me to the sharks.
On the day that we reached New York,
and while the barkentine was passing
through Hell Gate, the captain came for
ward to where was leaning over the rail
and said in low and confidential tone:
"Steward, how much longer could you
have served full rations?"
'Till dinner time tomorrow, l On
swered. Detroit Free Press.